APMA News - March/April 2019 - 17

President Edwards' Inaugural Speech

Latter-Day Saints. It was in this setting that I became aware of
podiatry. Dr. L. Flake Rogers had left his podiatry practice in
Utah in the hands of his son Mark while he and his sweet wife
Mary were serving as missionaries themselves. They were in a
supervisory role, overseeing the needs and welfare of 150 young
missionaries, including myself.
Like so many others, when asked how I found the profession, I respond that I had a personal experience with a podiatrist. Dr. Rogers was my introduction. At the conclusion of
my mission service, I returned to college as a business major.
Dr. Rogers' influence on me was significant. He owned his own
business but had the opportunity and the satisfaction of providing needed service to his client base. Another sentiment he
shared with me that resonated was that as a profession, podiatry allowed time for personal interests, family life, and God-
in other words, work-life balance.
Eventually, I shadowed his son, Mark, in practice, and by

an organized fashion, to reach out to the multiple undergraduate institutions in your area and build upon and strengthen
relationships with the pre-health advisors.
Go into the classrooms of the pre-health survey classes and
offer to take them our message by teaching a class period. APMA
is developing materials you can use to support those efforts.
I currently teach a class period each semester at Utah State
University. The students are eager to learn more about the many
possibilities that exist in medicine, and it is very satisfying to see
several students from each class I teach seek shadowing opportunities. Shadowing is our secret weapon. I encourage [students] to shadow in many different specialties but reinforce that
if they don't shadow a podiatrist in undergrad, they will never
know what the profession has to offer. Many of them do not
realize that podiatrists follow a separate educational path. I'll
share two brief portions of emails from just last month:
From a young man:

We have a great ancestral history in the profession!
Keeping this legacy alive is key to our future greatness.
the conclusion of my first year in college had decided to become a podiatrist.
The Rogers family is a great example to our profession!
Mark, who swore me in today, as many of you know, is a
long-time delegate from Utah. His brother Tom is also a podiatrist, and Mark's son Scott currently serves as the president
of the Utah Podiatric Medical Association: a three-generation
podiatry family.
Dr. Liswood, whom I previously mentioned, is also part of a
three-generation podiatry family. He is seen here being sworn in
by his father Fred. Here are Dr. David Armstrong and his father
Leo, along with his daughter Alexandria, who plans to start podiatry school this fall. Dr. Armstrong truly fits another definition of "pioneer": one who opens up new areas of thought, research, or development.
We have a great ancestral history in the profession! Keeping this legacy alive is key to our future greatness. We have an
ongoing need to nurture a rising generation to replace us.
At present, our student applicant pool is challenged, threatening our ability to sustain our legacy. Allopathic medicine has
two and a half applicants for every seat. It is very achievable for
us to reach that ratio, but it requires a strong collective effort
from all stakeholders. Those of you in this room today are very
much a part of the solution.
You sit here today as clear influencers in each of your local
geographies-knowledgeable, articulate, well-respected physicians. I would like to challenge you as state components, in

"I am a junior studying biochemistry; I have great grades and
I'm a hard worker. I am very interested in learning more about
the field of podiatry and also in shadowing to gain a better understanding of what it entails."
From a young lady who in the Q&A session had expressed
a personal history of a foot injury that had been treated by an
orthopedist:
"Prior to your visit, I only thought of pursuing orthopedic
surgery specializing in feet. After listening to you, I would like
to shadow under someone as I want to familiarize myself with
your field, as podiatry may [pique] my interests over orthopedic surgery."
These are just two examples; I'm sure each of you has personal experiences you can cite. Let's tackle this problem headon together!
Our students are the future, and I believe that as a profession, we must follow the example of our pioneers and look toward that future. I am very proud of this audience specifically.
You lead by example! You, along with other generous donors,
have contributed significantly to the APMA Educational Foundation Student Scholarship Fund. Because of your contributions, 324 deserving students received more than $400,000 in
scholarships this year. That's more than three-quarters of a million dollars in scholarships in the past two years! Thank you!
As we focus on the future, we have held at this HOD for the
first time a Young Physician Caucus. We are working hard to
continued on page 18
APMA News March/April 2019

APMA News - March/April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of APMA News - March/April 2019